Dual Enrollment

"Approximately one-half of the nation’s entering postsecondary students do not meet placement standards and are not ready for college-level work."

What Does the Research Say?

"Research indicates that connecting the systems and ensuring that they work together closely can improve college preparation, readiness, and completion."

SOURCE: Improving College Readiness and Success for All Students, An Issues Brief for the Secretary of Education’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education.

In dual enrollment, higher education institutions partner with K12 school districts – or community colleges partner with four-year institutions – to offer higher-level course work for dual credit, accelerating completion to a degree for motivated students and engaging learners who have lost interest in their current courses. Dual enrollment programs are growing nationally, according to the most recent study done by the U.S. Department of Education. But while more than half of all colleges and universities enrolled a combined five percent of high school students for college credit, dual enrollment offerings are not available consistently nationwide.

Project Outline

The Blackboard Institute identified a need to examine the existing practice and mine data in order to develop actionable guidance on how to create successful dual enrollment programs – and to make those tools available to the time- and resource-pressed leaders seeking to add dual enrollment offerings to their school or system.

K-20 Progression Project objectives are to publish effective practice studies on dual enrollment by drawing on Blackboard’s proximity to education practice. The effective practices will assist on-the-ground educators, but also inform the larger policy debate by surfacing and sharing real responses to education’s critical challenges.

Resources

Dual Enrollment: A Strategy for Educational Advancement of all Students
In Dual Enrollment: A Strategy for Educational Advancement of All Students, a new compendium of research for the Blackboard Institute on dual enrollment, researchers Elisabeth Barnett, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate, Teachers College, Columbia University, and Liesa Stamm, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate with the Rutgers–Camden Center for Children and Childhood Studies, looked at various configurations of and studies on dual enrollment and found that these programs, when properly implemented, are highly effective in helping all students – not just high achievers – succeed in post-secondary education.

Effective Practices in Online Dual Enrollment: Spotlight North Carolina
The Institute researched and developed a case study that spotlights the work and policy advancements being made in online dual enrollment in North Carolina. The full report describes the online dual enrollment landscape in the state, highlights key factors that fostered North Carolina’s success and breaks down critical roles that need to be played by state leaders. 

Dual Enrollment Opportunities for At-Risk Populations Using Online Learning
This presentation at the Ohio 2010 Educational Technology Conference examines the landscape of existing dual enrollment programs with a focus on programs that serve the at-risk dual enrollment population - students less likely to progress higher education - and how online learning may effectively assist this group.

Dual Enrollment Opportunities for At-Risk Populations Using Online Learning from Garen Singer on Vimeo.